Elders must avoid exposure to cold

Islamabad:After an extreme fall in mercury in this part of the country and severe cold and chilly weather conditions in hilly areas around Margalla and Murree hills, individuals must take extraordinary measures to avoid bad effects of harsh weather particularly those who have to stay outside in extreme cold for a longer period of time.

Health experts say that an extreme cold wave is hitting this region of the country that may pose serious health threats including hypothermia to both the healthy people and the chronic patients. Currently, the temperature falls below eight degree centigrade from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. and during the coldest hours, aged persons, children and chronic patients including those suffering from heart disease should avoid going outside homes.

Hypothermia that is considered as a life-threatening medical emergency occurs when the body loses heat faster than it can produce heat due to exposure to extreme cold or immersion into cold water particularly in chilly weather conditions. It results in a dangerously low body temperature that can even drop to 27 degree centigrade in severe cases due to prolonged exposure to cold temperatures. Normal body temperature is about 98.6 degree Fahrenheit (37 degree centigrade), but hypothermia occurs when the body temperature drops below 95 °F (35 °C).

Experts say that it is time to create awareness among the public on what problems the exposure to extreme cold can cause and how to avoid these life-threatening conditions. It is important that on January 7, 2022, a snowstorm causing extreme fall in mercury claimed the lives of as many as 23 tourists in a single night in Murree who had visited the hill station to see the snowfall. Reports say that the tourists including women and children died as the temperature fell to well below zero degree Celsius in the area where the people had to spend the whole night in their vehicles on the road.

Experts say that hypothermia is common in males and the elderly. It is important that in Pakistan, there is no concrete data about deaths from hypothermia but according to estimates, hypothermia causes not less than 150 deaths every winter, the number of cases reported in cities across the country. Hypothermia affects all systems of the body leading to unconsciousness and drowsiness that may result in coma or even death if left untreated.

Majority of deaths in Pakistan due to hypothermia are reported in the homeless population that freeze to death in the freezing or subzero winter cold and snow. After exposure to extreme cold for a longer period of time, a rapid drop in the body’s core temperature keeps the heart, nervous system, and other organs from functioning normally. It can also cause effects such as confusion and strange behaviours like clumsiness and fatigue. Death generally occurs due to complete failure of the heart and nervous system. Experts say that those suffering from unconsciousness or other symptoms of severe hypothermia should be brought to a hospital immediately where they can receive supportive care. Hypothermia is a life threatening emergency and should be promptly recognized and treated.